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August 29, 2008
Standing the Test of Time
Wow. I am not sure why I am so amazed at the inability of so many to engage in measured thought, particularly the press. They have the attention span of a child. As they say sometimes, 'that was yesterday's news.'
Yesterday, Barak Obama accepted the democratic party's nomination to become our next president. I watched the speech this morning and it was very moving. I could not help but feel swayed by it, only to temper my enthusiasm with a reminder that as much as Obama is trying to unite this country, as much as we need uniting, the political parties themselves have a vested interest in dividing us. For the first time in many, many years, there is reason to vote for the hope in the democratic party, and not as an alternative to the fear of a worse republican administration.
Perhaps recognizing the impact the speech should have, John McCain announced Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. On one hand, it was a brilliant move by McCain. As if a switch were flipped, Obama's speech became 'yesterday's news' and the story has quickly shifted to the young, inexperienced, scandal tainted, running mate. If the 'liberal' news can be counted on to fawn over Obama's speech, why all this focus on Sarah Palin?
And Sarah Palin. To be named a running mate when McCain has been saying 'Obama is not ready.' On the day of John McCain's 72nd birthday, maybe this was a ploy to divert coverage from his age- he would be the oldest sitting president if elected- but I can't help but think the choice of a young, inexperienced, executive from a state with one of the lowest populations in the nation, a state that is not forced to deal with the same problems and concerns that most of the rest of the states face, magnifies his age AND her inexperience. While the act of naming a woman on the ticket may have been geared toward drawing disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters, just how much support do you think you will get when the news outlets start playing Palin's criticisms of Clinton? As even Powerline even noted, this pick stinks of desperation and stifles what has been McCain's chief line of attack.
Brilliant, the pick was not. Sure it may blunt the bounce a candidate can expect post convention, but those bounces are usually short lived. I think this pick will boomerang and mean a lasting bounce for Obama.
Posted by r.johnson at August 29, 2008 12:52 PM